ReviewEnvironmental health insights2026
Impacts of Natural Disasters on Emergency Care Delivery in the United States: A Scoping Review and Digital Health-Informed Framework.
Review in Environmental health insights, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to identify the impacts and challenges natural disasters pose to emergency medical services (EMS) in the United States, and to develop a digital health-informed framework based on identified system-level challenges to enhance EMS resilience and effectiveness in disaster scenarios. Materials and Methods: A scoping review was conducted on July 7, 2025, across Scopus, PubMed, CINAHL, and Global Health databases. Literature from the past five years focusing on EMS delivery during three major U.S. natural disasters was analyzed using the World Health Organization's Emergency Care System Framework to assess challenges across EMS components and stakeholders, which subsequently informed the development of a digital health-informed response framework. Results: Natural disasters significantly threaten EMS operations at the scene, transport, and facility stages. Vulnerable populations, including the elderly and socioeconomically disadvantaged, experience heightened risks and service needs. Key challenges include increased demand for emergency care and reduced capacity in disaster-affected areas. Digital health tools, such as telehealth and dynamic ambulance dispatch systems, were identified as promising solutions. Discussion: Findings highlight the relevance of digital health in mitigating identified EMS challenges during disasters. By addressing gaps in communication, resource allocation, and service delivery, technology can enhance system responsiveness and resilience. Conclusion: A specialized digital health framework was developed to strengthen EMS delivery during natural disasters. Structured across four domains, patient, transport, facility, and provider, it offers actionable strategies to improve emergency care resilience and outcomes in disaster scenarios.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.